Turkish Foreign Minister Says Wants US Envoy McGurk Changed

News ID: 1411755 Service: Other Media

May, 18, 2017 - 14:32

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday he wanted Brett McGurk, the US special envoy to the coalition against Daesh (also known as ISIL or ISIS), removed from his post, saying he supported Kurdish militants.

Cavusoglu was speaking in an interview with broadcaster NTV after returning from a visit with President Tayyip Erdogan to Washington where they met President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

Ankara regards the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which is a US ally in the fight against Daesh, as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group fighting a decades-old insurgency in southeast Turkey.

"Brett McGurk, the USA's special envoy in the fight against Daesh, is definitely and clearly giving support to the PKK and YPG. It would be beneficial if this person is changed," Cavusoglu said.